"Tom Brady gives much to Best Buddies, but has taken millions for his own charitable trust" by Bob Hohler Globe Staff April 22, 2017

.... Charity watchdogs said it is not unusual for nonprofits to pay celebrities to help raise money, and they did not dispute that Best Buddies International, a nonprofit dedicated to helping intellectually and developmentally disabled people, has realized an enviable return on its relationship with Tom Brady, but nonprofit watchdogs said the arrangement could diminish Brady’s charitable image.I don't think so, not around here. That guy is as close to God as you can get.

Brady launched his Boston-based Change the World Foundation Trust, whose giving has focused almost entirely on causes tied to Brady’s personal interests, including his high school alma mater, his children’s private schools, and charities operated by his football friends, in 2005, after he signed his first big deal with the Patriots: a six-year, $60 million contract. He has since amassed personal wealth estimated at $180 million, while the net worth of his wife, Gisele Bundchen, is about $360 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, a website that tracks such things.In other words, he's just like the rest of the 1%, doling out money to family and friends. That's how the $y$tem works.

Brady, the sole trustee of his private charity, initially funded the nonprofit with a donation of $490,000 in 2005. Since then he has not made a significant financial contribution, according to tax reports through 2015, the most recently available.

Instead, Best Buddies has almost entirely funded Brady’s foundation. Through 2015, nearly 98 percent of Change the World’s total contributions of $2.3 million since Brady’s initial donation were $2.25 million in grants from Best Buddies. Including Brady’s donation, the percentage is about 80%.

And where did the money go? From 2011 through to 2015, Change the World gave grants of $55,000 to Best Buddies, after donating a total of $80,000 over the previous three years.

Otherwise, from 2011 through 2015, Change the World distributed nearly $1 million to more than 30 nonprofits. The largest beneficiary was Brady’s alma mater, Junipero Serra High School, in San Mateo, Calif., at $250,000.

The next largest grants, $100,000 each, went to Santa Monica Catholic Community, where Brady and Gisele Bundchen were married in 2009, and the TB12 Foundation, a charity Brady formed in 2015 to support clients of his Foxborough-based TB12 fitness and nutrition company.

Ohio State University received a $50,000 donation in honor of Ed Razek, a former Victoria’s Secret executive who is said to have helped launch Brady’s romance with Bundchen by setting them up in 2006.

Others getting $50,000 were Brady’s college alma mater, the University of Michigan, for cancer research; as well as Dana-Farber Cancer Center, Mission of Hope Haiti, and the Navy SEAL Foundation.

A charity honoring Tom Martinez, Brady’s longtime personal coach who died in 2012, received $37,800. And $30,000 went to a nursing facility in Minnesota that cared for Brady’s grandfather before he died in 2016.

In addition, Change the World donated $10,000 to Saint David’s School in New York City and $20,000 to the Apple Orchard School in Brookline, both of which Brady’s children have attended.

Nonprofits created by Brady’s former teammates also benefited, with grants of $25,000 going to Vince Wilfork’s charity, $10,000 to Deion Branch’s, and $5,000 to Wes Welker’s.

The entire arrangement has stirred concerns among some nonprofit watchdogs....By the end of the article you will not have one, and besides, there was nothing illegal done.

--more--"I gue$$ Brady and the Globe are no longer best buddies. Not hard to figure out why (hint, hint, hint, hint, hint, hint). Maybe he can sell the shirt:

This time maybe you really can blame the media.What do you mean "this time?"

The mystery of Tom Brady’s missing Super Bowl LI jersey was solved Monday when the NFL and Houston authorities announced it had been recovered in Mexico with the help of Houston police, the FBI, Mexican law enforcement, and the Patriots.I'm glad they didn't have more important matters concerning them, like drug smugglers and such.

The suspect was identified as Martin Mauricio Ortega, formerly of the Mexican tabloid La Prensa. Ortega, who has not been charged, allegedly used his press credentials to enter the Patriots’ locker room and take the jersey.

La Prensa released a statement Monday afternoon offering an apology for the “unfortunate events” and condemning Ortega’s alleged actions. The publication said Ortega had offered his resignation more than a week ago but it did not know of the allegations against him until Monday.

Ortega told the paper he was offering his resignation because he was going through some difficult personal problems related to the health of close family members.

Houston police chief Art Acevedo said the jersey had been turned over to the NFL and the FBI, after what he described as “outstanding work” by his police department.

“You don’t come to Texas and embarrass us here on our home turf,’’ Acevedo said. “It was not our highest priority, but the only blemish on our Super Bowl was the theft of the jersey.’’

In an interesting twist, it was revealed that a second Brady jersey, this one from Super Bowl XLIX, also was recovered. It had not been previously reported that that jersey, from the win over the Seahawks in 2015, had been stolen.

Additionally, Fox Sports reported that authorities also recovered the helmet and cleats worn by Denver’s Von Miller in the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 win....All taken by this one guy, huh? How did he slip out with a helmet and cleats?

Organized by Boston-based Combined Jewish Philanthropies, a nine-day trip to Israel in 2015 with 12 other young adults from Boston included stops at Independence Hall, where in 1948 David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the establishment of the state of Israel; Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem; the gravesite of pioneering Zionist Theodor Herzl, and a visit to the Western Wall, where Edelman wandered away from the group and said a prayer.

“He approached a rabbi who helped him with it,” said Dan Seligson, the CJP staff member who led the tour. “It was just something he decided to do. We didn’t take him there to do it. He was inspired to do it.”

Today Edelman, who once said in an ESPN interview that he considers himself “Jew-ish,” appears sincere about his faith. In texts to his Jewish friends, he’ll often type “Achi” (the Hebrew word for “my brother”), he attends Shabbat dinners, and he sometimes wears an Israeli and American flag pin on his hat on the sidelines.

"How can fans make sense of the Trump-Kraft relationship?" by Yvonne Abraham Globe Columnist April 22, 2017

Robert Kraft stood on the South Lawn of the White House, heaping praise upon a president who is the antithesis of much the owner of the New England Patriots stands for.

He spoke of Donald Trump’s resilience and his work ethic, drawing parallels between the president’s win and the Patriots’ come-from-behind victory in this year’s Super Bowl.

“It’s a distinct honor for us to celebrate what was unequivocally our sweetest championship with a very good friend and somebody whose mental toughness and strength I greatly admire,’’ said Kraft, who also donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration.Related: Sheldon Adelson gave $5 million for Trump’s inauguration

Over the years, Kraft, taking up the mantle of his late wife, Myra, has funded efforts to improve the lives of many people who are now terrified in Trump’s America. He has helped expand access to health care; funded services for refugees and immigrants, including Muslims; supported arts organizations, and institutes for Jewish studies and inter-religious understanding; championed gay, lesbian, and transgender rights; and backed programs to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault. Kraft’s support goes beyond money: He actually shows up.

And now Kraft is closely and publicly tethered to a president who has demonized immigrants and Muslims, endangered the health insurance of 24 million people, emboldened racists and anti-Semites, and boasted of his own sexually predatory behavior. For some who thought they knew what Kraft stood for, including some of the people working on the causes he supports, that has been unsettling.They still taking the checks?

What gives? Through a spokesman, Kraft declined an interview request. But his son Josh was happy to explain. “It’s pretty simple,” said Josh Kraft, who heads the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston. “They’ve been friends for years. The worst time in my dad’s life, this guy was there for him.” After Myra died in 2011, Robert was devastated. Trump traveled up here to be with him, and called Kraft constantly for a year after that, checking on him.

“Friendship trumps politics, for lack of a better term,” Josh Kraft said. “You might not agree with what your friend believes, but why let that ruin a friendship?”Because political correctness demands it!

It’s clear that although Robert Kraft disagrees with Trump on some things, he doesn’t see him as the disaster for women, minorities, immigrants, and poor Americans that many others do, including me. To my eye, this isn’t just a friendship between people on different sides of the aisle: Trump isn’t Jeb Bush, or Mitt Romney. He has said and done inexcusable, dangerous things, as a candidate and president. But clearly, his old friend views him through another lens. He might even think he can moderate Trump’s extremism.

“Maybe even, when the time is right, he can share some of his insights with [Trump],” Josh Kraft said.

It is admirable that Trump was supportive in Bob Kraft’s darkest hours. But it seems like Trump has the better end of the bargain now. During the campaign, he repeatedly bathed in the football team’s glow, touting support from Kraft, coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady on the trail.

On Wednesday, he was at it again, turning the Pats visit into another glory-grubbing campaign rally.

Whether Kraft agrees with him or not, he is helping to advance Trump’s fortunes, and thus his destructive agenda. In so doing, Kraft imperils an important piece of his own legacy....5 Super Bowl trophies overrides everything else, sorry.

WARNING for European visitors: European Union laws require you to give European Union visitors information about cookies used on your blog. In many cases, these laws also require you to obtain consent. As a courtesy, we have added a notice on your blog to explain Google's use of certain Blogger and Google cookies, including use of Google Analytics and AdSense cookies. You are responsible for confirming this notice actually works for your blog, and that it displays. If you employ other cookies, for example by adding third party features, this notice may not work for you. Learn more about this notice and your responsibilities.